Tuesday, 2 October 2012

Green Day - 21 guns








The video above is called '21 Guns' and is by the American band 'Green Day' from there eighth album '21st century breakdown'. It is part performance and part narrative.  It plays on the idea of the 21 gun salute, which is a saying for a warship emptying their guns in order to show that they have no hostile intent it is also often used as a reception for heads of state. The first interpretation fits in well with the music video as it is about surrendering and giving up on a fight that is not worth dyeing for. it is directed by Mark Webb who is quite well known. Webb won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction for this video in 2009.

It is about what is worth fighting for in life and what is worth letting go. the idea in this song and video is that although pride is important you should not let it stand in between you, and happiness. there.



 The first lines asks a question about 'do you know what is important to you?' and we see a man looking at a bullet which again refers to war and he then drops it suggesting he is giving up and as the bullet hits the ground the first guitar strums start. Then there is a close up of the actual bands Billie Joe Armstrong lead singer we see that he is trying to hide his emotions as his girlfriend is at the window looking out which shows that they have grown apart again seen when they are seen at opposite ends of the room. And the lyrics ask weather it is worth the pain. which suggests that they should forget there pride and forgive each other. The band say that 'it is not about giving up instead realising what is important'.

The couple are then subject to stray bullets coming through the walls as the chorus sets in, we see a long shot of the woman covering her head in fear as bullets come through the wall around her. The band who are seen in a similar room to the couple are also affected by it but act as if they don't notice, a medium close up shot of the guitarist playing on and singing calmly whilst bullets shoot through the walls behind him is an example of this. Compared to the couple who panic, therefor showing that they don't want to die which may suggest they don't really want the relationship to die.

I also think that is like the band are narrating a silent movie as they are almost watching things unfold and explaining. the fact that they are not affected by the bullets would suggest they are not real almost like a guardian angel.

Also the bullets could be seen as their pride which is keeping them apart and after the chorus the music becomes calmer and the couple both become calm and walk towards each other, not caring about the bullets which shows that they have overcome that and realised that it is not worth the pain of not being together therefore, surrendering there pride which again refers to the earlier line '"Does the pain weigh out the pride?'and when they meet in the middle they kiss.

The video is shot in a your average city apartment and the couple are both dressed fairly plainly, which i believe is to suggest that they are just normal people, therefor the viewer can see that this could be them if they do not listen to the meaning being portrayed. they are both wearing black leather jackets  and have similar color hair may suggests simelarities. therefor connecting the two.

Fairly often in this song the video cuts to the beat of the music, examples of this can be seen at the beginning when the bullet hits the ground the beat comes in and the video cuts to the band, it is also common when the camera is on the band for it to cut to the different members and this if often done to the beat of the music, especial the drum beat.

The video for this song is similar to a lot of the music videos made by this band especially in the album '21st century breakdown' where there is a separate narrative story and also visuals of the band playing the song, a good example of this is in the video for 'Wake me up when September ends'. However other videos especial in earlier albums have been made very differently compared to this one which is very serious and solom whereas in videos such as 'American Idiot' and 'Holiday'the video is much more relaxed and fun with a fast tempo.   

There is a defernate message trying to be portrayed in the song and the video helps to portray this to the full extent. you can tell the words are asking the question if things are worth the pain and not to let your pride get in the way of something that you want.  

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